


They Were Roommates

by glorious_anthem



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst?, Chronic Pain, Comfort, Emile is pure and sneaky, Fluff, Insomnia, Logan is also mentioned and I forgot to mention that he is mentioned, M/M, Remy is flirty and sassy, Roman is mentioned, Self-Indulgent, author is confused and frustrated, human!AU, i guess?, that’s it that’s the fanfic, these soft boys need more love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 16:38:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16916454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorious_anthem/pseuds/glorious_anthem
Summary: Remy can’t sleep, per usual. Insomnia perks. He also has no idea how to work though his feelings. Luckily, his roommate is willing to help with both of those things.





	They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING**  
> This fic contains mentions of pain and a brief depiction of what could be perceived as an anxiety attack! If these bother you, please don’t read! Stay safe!
> 
> This is my first fanfic in the history of ever, so please bear with me as I learn to write characters I do not own. Speaking of which, I do not own these characters! They belong to Thomas Sanders. Now that that’s out of the way, enjoy the story!

3:19 AM. What a time to be alive.

Remy Dox was not fond of insomnia, nor was he fond of late nights, nor was he fond of unexplainable pain. But, as he had learned, life had a certain way of doing whatever it wanted. In Remy’s case, that meant cramming all of his literal least favorite things into a singular human being: himself. It was delightful, carrying painkillers everywhere and having almost half of the medicine cabinet dedicated solely to melatonin supplements. Really, he pitied his roommate more than himself, because while Remy had to deal with his issues, Emile had to deal with Remy dealing with his issues. The poor man did all he could and more, but not much could be done besides waiting out the pain or sleeping it off, the latter of which rarely happened. A sleep-deprived, pain-wracked diva wasn’t always the best thing to wake up to. 

Remy considered himself lucky, really. He didn’t have it as bad as some people. He could usually push through, and it didn’t hurt all of the time. Just most of the time. Admittedly, that wasn’t much better, but it was the attempt at positivity that counted. He found himself slowly turning into one of Emile’s uplifting Instagram posts. ‘Thinking positive is the first step to being happy!’

Staring blankly at the ceiling, sunglasses discarded on the nightstand, he decided to attempt his roommate’s method. Think positive. _I’m positive this is the worst my shoulder and back have ever been. I’m positive I’ll get no sleep tonight. I’m positive Emile is going to make me stay home from work tomorrow. I’m positive-_ Remy suddenly winced and let out a low, muffled groan as the dull ache in his shoulder increased. He rolled onto his side, but the position hurt his shoulder still. He tried the other side, which made his back pain worse. He growled, frustration only increasing as he tossed and turned. Finally, he twisted onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow and screamed as quietly as he could manage. He stayed that way for a while, shuddering and and having issues breathing. That was probably due to the pillow Remy was currently trying to suffocate himself with. He actually registered that the pillow was wet before he realized his eyes were watering and pulled back in alarm. _It’s not even that bad! Why am I crying?_ He whined in frustration and rolled onto his back again, rubbing his eyes harshly and sniffing. Eventually he ended up on his side again in a tight ball as the pain increased tenfold. Did anyone say that anymore? Tenfold? 

A light knock on the door startled Remy out of his thoughts and awakened his mind to the pain again, which wasn’t much appreciated. But given who it most likely was, he couldn’t be truly upset. Sure enough, the door was nudged open a sliver, and the tea-fanatic could almost make out the brown eyes peering through. “Rem?” A soft voice murmured from the door. “Are you still awake?”

“As always, hun.” Remy winked tiredly at the door, still flirty as ever when sleepless. Emile hypothesized that the lack of sleep only added to his brassy personality, and he and Logan stewed over this theory several times a day. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“We live in the same house, Remy,” Emile reminded him gently, pushing the door open further to step inside. “And I could hear you tossing and turning from my room.”

“Did I wake you?” The shorter man sat up, genuinely a little worried. “I was trying to be quiet in my suffering.” This pulled a giggle from Emile, who made his way over to sit on the bed’s edge.

“It doesn’t matter if you woke me up or not, I want to help you.” He looked back over his shoulder at Remy, lacking in glasses for once, and the diva found it difficult to look away. “Is there anything you need? Is it sleeping troubles again?”

“What else would it be?” Remy rested his chin in his hands, making a sour face at the pain it caused. You’d think he’d be used to it by now. ‘But alas,’ as Roman would say, ‘it is not so.’

“That,” Picani pointed out, tone low. Even at the current, blasphemously early time, his eyes were bright and shining with worry. “Did you hurt yourself? You look like you’ve been crying.”

“A little,” Remy admitted quietly, though it wasn’t even specified which statement he was responding to. He found himself tearing up a little bit at even just being reminded of crying. That was one thing about Remy. Once he’d already broken down, almost anything could set it off again. He studied the stitches of his blanket in painful, awkward silence, chest tight. It was like the air in the room suddenly thickened and refused to enter his lungs, or his mouth grew smaller or something. Inhaling was like trying to drink in oxygen through a straw.

“Steady, Rem. I need you to breathe slowly. You’re okay, everything’s fine.” Gentle hands rested on Remy’s shoulders, guiding him in a breathing pattern he knew almost by heart. _Breathe in for four seconds. Hold your breath for seven seconds. Breathe out for eight seconds._ He could hear Picani echoing the words faintly. _Four, seven, eight. Four, seven, eight._ To think something to small could be such a big issue for some people. They couldn’t breathe normally and sometimes couldn’t breathe without help. Remy was lucky, really. “Focus,” Emile murmured. “Four... seven... eight. There you go, you’re doing fine.” Personally, Remy thought he was doing fabulously, but he supposed that was a matter of opinion. _Four, seven, eight. Four, seven, eight._ After a few more minutes, he was able to breathe correctly without thinking too much about it. “How are you feeling?” His roommate squeezed his shoulders just a little, but it was enough to make Remy flinch. Emile removed one hand to gently tilt the smaller’s chin upward. “Look at me,” he urged softly. 

“That’s not difficult, sweetheart,” Remy whispered with a small smirk, rolling his free shoulder and shuddering at the ache. Emile smiled a little bit, letting go of his roommate’s jaw to push back some of the hair falling in his eyes.

“What hurts?” He asked softly.

“My heart.”

Picani giggled. “I’m trying to be serious, Rem!”

“If you’re Sirius, does that make me Remus?” 

Emile let out a little snort in his laughter and Remy felt the heat rise in his face. He struggled to keep on the smug look. After a moment, his friend managed to compose himself. “Really, Remy. Please talk to me. I can tell something’s hurting you, and I just want to help.”

There was a brief moment of silence in which Remy considered attempting to lie and play everything off as just exhaustion. His gaze lowered to the blanket again. “...my back,” he explained quietly, for once admitting defeat. It felt strange and blank to be open with someone, but oddly... refreshing. “I get pain in my back and shoulders a lot, maybe from work I guess? It’s kinda in the upper back and right shoulder at the moment but it varies from day to day. It doesn’t always bother me but it’s pretty frequent. It’s not that bad though, just kind of an ache.” Remy shut his mouth and wiped his face, mustering a shaky laugh. “I’m talking a lot. Sorry, hun.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m glad you told me.” Emile looked worried, pulling away from Remy. “Was I hurting you earlier? Is that why you were flinching?”

“Just a little. It wasn’t bad, I promise.” He smiled tiredly. “Sorry for keeping you up with me, girl. I know it’s not any fun.”

“I’m here to help, Remy. I think getting to be with you is pretty fun in itself.” Emile smiled in return, the Picani-smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and lit up his entire face and definitely _didn’t_ make Remy swoon. Not one bit. He shivered a little and smirked.

“I’m flattered, Picani.”

“Are you cold?” The smile faded into a worried, pout-like frown that was equally as cute. 

“Are you offering to cuddle with me, sugar?” Remy grinned smugly. 

“If you want me to!” His roommate looked suddenly excited, and Remy was a little stunned. 

_Oh. Well, okay. This could work._

Remy laid down on his side, stiffening a little when he felt the bed shift beneath him. Light hands roamed his back, thumbs settling to press lightly between his shoulder blades as Emile’s palms and fingers worked the tension from his shoulders. Caught by surprise, Remy flushed again to the point where he thought he might pass out. It didn’t help when Emile asked him to take his shirt off. “Heyy...moving a little fast now, aren’t we, hun?” Remy laughed nervously.

“Oh, hush. You can say no. I just want to be able to rub your back better.” Picani moved backward a little to give his roommate space. 

“Really? Because it seems to me like you just want to get me out of my shirt.” Remy laughed.

“No, that’s just a plus.” 

There were a few long seconds of silence before Remy heard a muffled whine from behind him. “Oh my _gosh_ why did I say that?!”

Choking back a laugh, Remy rolled over and took his roommate’s hands gently. “Em, hey, hey, it’s fine! That was really smooth, I just didn’t expect that from you.”

Emile, bless his soul, had the most adorable flush across his face and looked like he wished he could sink into the bed and never come back up. “It slipped out.”

“I don’t mind it, sweetheart, I promise.” He let go of Emile’s hands to shimmy out of his shirt, but got stuck halfway. “ _Ow._ ”

There was a little snicker from in front of him. “Do you need some help, Rem?”

“Please.” The shirt was tugged off carefully and Remy was met with the sight of his grinning friend. He managed an awkward smile. “Thanks.” Then he rolled over quickly to try and avoid any more awkwardness. He shivered a little as Emile’s fingers ghosted lightly across his skin before settling again and working into his strained muscles. He couldn’t keep back the relieved sigh, eyelids drooping. 

“Is this good?” Remy could hear the smile in Emile’s voice, and it made him smile a little as well.

“ ‘s _great,_ love. Thanks.” He hummed and closed his eyes, just realizing how sore they were. He felt a hand brushing through his hair just before he finally, finally drifted off to sleep. 

•*•

Remy was startled awake later in the morning by a face pressed into the back of his neck and arms looped around his waist, and he had a few moments of panic before he remembered the events of the previous night. He felt remarkably more rested than he ever recalled being before. “Em?” He murmured, shifting a little bit. “Emile, hun, lemme go, I need to get to work.”

The grip on his waist tightened, and that was when Remy realized his roommate was, in fact, not asleep. He knew exactly what he was doing. “Stay here,” he urged softly. 

“I need to go to work, though believe me, I’d be more than happy to stay with you.” Remy squirmed in his friend’s grasp. “Come on, sugarplum...” 

“Please..?” Picani pressed further, hugging Remy close. He was much stronger than most people gave him credit for. “I’ll make you tea...”

“I can get tea at work though,” the diva excused, persisting in his struggle. 

“Maybe, but it’s not my tea.” Emile yawned, breath brushing his roommate’s neck and making him shudder. “And it’s more expensive. And you’ll have to leave.”

Remy froze. “You make a valid argument.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Green tea?”

“With a smackeral of honey,” Emile agreed, smiling a little.

“Sold.” 

Picani giggled and let go. “Perfect! I already called to let your boss know you wouldn’t be coming in, and my only client today had to reschedule.”

“So you were planning this all along?”

“Pretty much.” Emile slid out of the bed and came around to Remy’s side, giving him a wink. Remy sat up slightly, smirking at the gesture.

“I think I’m beginning to rub off on you, hun.” He snickered, and his friend smiled.

“A little bit,” he agreed cheerily. “But I don’t think I mind.” He bent down a little and brushed Remy’s hair back to press a soft, brief kiss to his forehead. He scampered out of the room, leaving a flustered and gaping Remy in his wake. “Be back with your tea in a jiffy!”

Remy stared out the door his roommate had left through, struggling to process what had just happened. Oh. _That was certainly... something. I don’t think I’d mind it happening again._ The voice in the back of his head was screaming with joy, and he decided he definitely, _definitely_ wanted to do that again.

Perhaps Remy would have to refer to Emile as more than just his roommate.


End file.
